Happy Thanksgiving, Part One

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa, Darryl, Daniella and Valerie. Thank you all for making us feel so welcome and planning such wonderful things for us to do! A snapshot:

--We made it up to NYC pretty easily, since we left at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. Rachel and I dozed off and on during the trip, and when we arrived and Grandma and Grandpa's, we pulled into the indoor pool's parking lot, changed clothes and got to their house just after 4. Darryl, Daniella and Valerie were already there, and the cousins had a joyful reunion -- and immediately went into the library to play with the awesome toys that Grandma and Grandpa had gotten, including some Legos and wooden blocks that Rachel -- who cheerfully let me give away both those things years ago -- became immersed in. Go figure. The food was fabulous, and thanks, everyone, for the compliments on the cake. Daniella's pecan pie was transcendent, and I don't even LIKE pecan pie.

--We slept at Grandma and Grandpa's, had breakfast with them the next morning and then drove to Darryl/Daniella/Valerie's. Drew took off to visit his family gravesite near Columbia and then to the Mets store (Rachel was very happy with her T-shirt and Mr. Mets figure, which she sleeps with every night), while we all walked (it was so warm outside, I really didn't want to go to a museum) to a local restaurant, Exo, and had frozen yogurt afterward while I dashed into Haagen-Dasz and had an ice-cream cone, for, probably, the last time this year, I figured (although it is supposed to be in the mid-60s this weekend, so who knows?). Then we all walked back to the apartment and put on "Mary Poppins," which I had really wanted to see again -- and, boy, what a difference Hi-Def and a big TV make. Even Drew was shocked when he showed up around 8 and saw the end of the movie. Once again we vowed to get a bigger, newer TV, and once again I'm sure it won't happen unless a) I start working full time or b) I bring in a LOT of freelance money next year. But money for a new TV would be worth it!

--The girls had a sleepover that night and bedded down under a tent that Valerie/Darryl helped construct out of a sheet taped to the furniture. It looked kind of cool, actually (the next morning, they built a zipline for their stuffed animals at the far end of the bedroom. These kids!). They woke up at 6:30, but Drew called sleepily from the living room that we weren't ready to get up yet, and so they were pretty quiet until around 8:30 or so. Thanks, kids!